What
should we do without them?
Cattle, colloquially
referred to as cows (though technically cow refers only
to female bovines), are domesticated ungulates, a member
of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are
raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal), dairy
products (milk), leather and as draught animals (pulling
carts, plows and the like). In some countries, such as
India, they are honored in religious ceremonies and revered.
It is estimated that there are 1.3 billion cattle in the
world today.
Cattle were originally identified by Carolus Linnaeus
as three separate species. These were Bos taurus, the
European cattle, including similar types from Africa and
Asia; Bos indicus, the zebu; and the extinct Bos primigenius,
the aurochs. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and
European cattle. More recently these three have increasingly
been grouped as one species, with Bos primigenius taurus,
Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius
as the subspecies.
Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed
with other closely related species. Hybrid individuals
and even breeds exist, not only between European cattle
and zebu but also with yaks (called a dzo), banteng, gaur,
and bison ("cattalo"), a cross-genera hybrid.
For example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu breed,
the only humpless "Bos taurus-type" cattle in
Nepal, found them to be a mix of European cattle, zebu
and yak. Cattle cannot successfully be bred with water
buffalo or African buffalo.
The aurochs was originally spread throughout Europe, North
Africa, and much of Asia. In historical times, their range
was restricted to Europe, and the last animals were killed
by poachers in Masovia, Poland, in 1627. Breeders have
attempted to recreate cattle of similar appearance to
aurochs by careful crossing of domesticated cattle breeds,
creating the Heck cattle breed.
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